Kent Hollow Mine sues the town of Amenia for ZBA ruling

AMENIA — Residents of the town of Amenia may have believed that ever since the Amenia Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) unanimously denied the Kent Hollow Mine zoning appeal on June 17 of this year, the matter had been laid to rest. That assumption would be in error.

 The mine, located on South Amenia Road, wanted to expand its operations to develop a new 33-acre sand and gravel mine on its already existing 82.6-acre parcel, according to documents from the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). That, despite being informed by Amenia Code Enforcement Officer (CEO) Michael Segelken that the town classifies the mine as a nonconforming use, which was originally declared back in 1978, when Kent Hollow first applied for its permit.

 Some history: Kent Hollow Mine has operated a mine on a small scale during the past few decades, but its original permit expired in 1989. It then submitted an application to the town of Amenia to increase operations in 2016, but withdrew that application shortly afterward. It resubmitted the application in February, 2017. 

 Ultimately it was unable to win the appeal based on Segelken’s decision, despite submitted mounds of paperwork trying to establish the mine’s working history. The mine’s timeline of activity — including when activity discontinued -— whether the mine provided the town with the proper documents for materials extracted from the site, the mine’s classification as a nonconforming use and the mine’s intentions for extracting materials in the future were all considered by the ZBA.

 All the while, the public spoke of the mine’s pastoral location and quality of life issues for nearby residents. Countless residents attended the public meetings and hearings dealing with the appeal. And, after years of consideration, the ZBA made its final decision.

 Michael Chamberlin, a ZBA member who was named in the recent lawsuit, defended the board’s decision.

 “There was a lengthy public hearing and the whole process was really guided by the ZBA’s lawyer, George Lithco,” said Chamberlin. “I think the ZBA did its job, I just don’t think that Kent Hollow made its case.”

 Calls to Kent Hollow Mine President Richard Steiner for comment were not returned by press time. But public records  reflect that on Tuesday, Sept. 17, Kent Hollow Mine served the town.

 Legal details

 The lawsuit, filed by Allan Rappleyea of Corbally, Gartland and Rappleyea, LLP, is against the Amenia Zoning Board of Appeals, CEO Segelken, town Councilwoman Vicky Doyle, ZBA member Chamberlin, ZBA alternate Leo Blackman, former ZBA Chairman Jeff Barnett-Winsby and ZBA member James Wright.

 The suit claims that Kent Hollow Mine has operated a gravel mine since on or about June 1971, when it acquired the property. In the fall of 2012, it states, the DEC issued a notice of a complete application and negative declaration in the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process, when Kent Hollow sought a mining permit.

 Doyle, Chamberlin, Barnett-Winsby, Blackman and Wright all own or owned properties near the mine, and, according to Kent Hollow, “had a personal interest in closing the mine” even though they held official positions in town.

 Doyle, for her part, recused herself from any discussion or action taken regarding the mine. 

 Chamberlin, an attorney by trade, did not recuse himself, but submitted a lengthy explanation of why he felt he could objectively rule on the matter. He explained that more than a decade ago he led the Oblong Valley Association (OVA), which objected to the mine. 

 “I guess my main reason for doing that was my daughter, who was 7 or 8 years old at the time, would ride her pony around 50 yards from the mine, and ponies don’t like loud noises and gravel trucks. That was the main thing that motivated me,” he said. “There are lots of arguments against the mine: bog  turtles, rattlesnakes, etc., they were not as important to me. What was more important was the safety of my daughter on her pony. My daughter is 18 now, and doesn’t ride a pony anymore. My main reason for having a problem with the mine went away, because of a change of circumstances.”

 Therefore, argued Chamberlin, he held no animus against the mine and could fairly rule on the appeal with the rest of the ZBA. OVA, meanwhile, is rarely active these days, and Chamberlin has not been much involved with the organization, he said.

 Alternative use

 He, and others, said when Kent Hollow purchased the mine years ago, mining wasn’t its main objective. Developing residential apartments was, they say, adding one such apartment building exists today. 

 “That was back in the ‘70s,” Chamberlin said. “We’d call that affordable housing now. One of those buildings was actually built, and it’s still there. They were interested in seven, eight, even 10 buildings that they were proposing at the time. That’s the best we could tell from the ZBA, from the evidence they submitted… Then, a little mining [would occur] to get some gravel out for building foundations and driveways. That was their plan.”

 “It’s pretty clear that they never established that quarry primarily to mine,” said adjacent property owner Phil Sicker. “All the evidence pointed to the fact that he wanted to build a series of apartment complexes. They only built one. 

 “The questions of grandfathering it in were moot because of their original intent,” he added, noting Kent Hollow’s claim that it was entitled to renew mining activities because it had extracted small legal amounts of gravel during the past 30 years was untrue, “because many years they took nothing at all.”

 The ZBA had asked Kent Hollow to document the gravel it extracted over the years, but the paperwork it submitted was unconvincing. 

 “You could see in the questions the ZBA was asking they were not buying it,” said Sicker. “And the binder of receipts Kent Hollow presented were indications [that] extracted small amounts of soil or gravel over many years appeared to be a series of documents indicating one part of the company took dirt to another part of the company and some years, nothing at all.”

 Sicker said Kent Hollow’s case was ineffective and that when the ZBA denied the appeal, he wasn’t surprised.

 Fallout

 Now, with the latest lawsuit, nearby resident Laurence Levin said the town needs to support the ZBA and its decision.

 “I think people should understand that if this [lawsuit] goes against the town and the ZBA decision… it goes against the master plan and the zoning ordinances. And this can happen anywhere in the town, it’s not just a very localized issue over in the Oblong Valley and Rattlesnake Mountain,” she said. “[We] all live on that eastern edge of Amenia,  but it could happen anywhere: Smithfield, along 22 — anywhere, because the whole valley is basically glacial remains and there’s gravel everywhere.”

 Levin added that the town took years to develop its master plan (now known as a comprehensive plan), and defined where the mining industry is appropriate, and where it is not.

 “There are zoning maps based on this,” she said, noting the Segalla gravel mine operates just “up the road from Kent Hollow.

 “They have a right to mine there, and that was granted,” she said. 

 She also mentioned that the lawsuit claims there was bias against the mine when the ZBA ruled. Levin credited ZBA attorney Lithco for maintaining an aura of appropriateness and said because of his actions, she’s “very confident that the decision will stand.”

 Complaints against Amenia town Supervisor Victoria Perotti’s unwillingness to discuss the lawsuit at Town Board meetings, meanwhile, were addressed by both Doyle and Perotti. 

 “We are unable to talk because of comments on issues that are in litigation,” said Doyle, who expressed disappointment about having to be so coy.

 Perotti also expressed frustration at having to deal with yet another legal proceeding filed by the mine. But, she said philosophically, it’s all in a day’s work at Town Hall.

 “This isn’t our first go around with them,” she said. “It’s probably our third. They just keep coming back every so many years. OK, here they are again.”

 The town supervisor said the town will answer the lawsuit in defense of the ZBA.

 “Kent Hollow Mine is not in our soil mining [district] overlay in our zoning,” she said. “It’s a very complicated issue. But it’s totally inappropriate for us to be discussing litigation at this point, because there aren’t really any answers.”